People flock to pot survey
Territorial government questionnaire garners 600 responses in one week as working group looks for input on legalization
Cody Punter
Northern News Services
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A survey to gauge the public's stance on marijuana legalization has garnered an overwhelming response since it was launched last week.
A GNWT survey on marijuana legalization has garnered more than 600 responses since it was launched last Tuesday. The territorial government is currently developing legislation ahead of the federal government's plans to legalize marijuana next summer. - photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons |
In the first 48 hours after the territorial government survey went live last Tuesday, the justice department's website received 600 submissions.
"It's definitely more than I was envisioning," said assistant deputy justice minister Mark Aitken, who is the unofficial chair of the GNWT's marijuana working group. "The response has been really gratifying."
As of press time, the survey had received 686 submissions.
Provinces and territories across the country have been scrambling to come up with their own marijuana legislation since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced plans to legalize the plant by next July.
The survey includes a mix for yes/no questions as well as multiple opportunities to comment on all aspects surrounding legalization including: limiting youth access to marijuana; regulating smoking in public; determining how to police intoxicated driving; and developing regulations for retail sales of the drug.
As with the regulation of alcohol, any laws the GNWT comes up with will have to conform with the federal government's marijuana legislation.
This means residents can suggest raising the minimum age to purchase marijuana from 18 but cannot lower it.
The same goes for the maximum amount of marijuana individuals will be allowed to possess - reducing the amount below the 30-gram limit is an option but raising it is not.
One of the more contentious issues surrounding legalization is how it will be sold.
Aitken said the GNWT is currently exploring two models for marijuana retail. One option would be to treat it like alcohol, which would involve setting up something akin to the liquor commission but for marijuana, with the government responsible for distributing cannabis in stores or by mail for smaller communities.
The other choice would be to regulate the sale of marijuana like tobacco, which according to Aitken would mean a greater variety of outlets but less control over how and who marijuana is sold to.
"This is one of the boxes where we're likely to get more comments than others because this is the issue that is going to affect people who intend to become consumers," he said.
Another burning question is whether remote communities will be able to impose their own restrictions on access to marijuana. Although the question of community-level regulation is up in the air, Aitken envisions communities wanting to have the same power to regulate cannabis as they do liquor.
"One option could be that communities want to keep their prohibition for alcohol but not for cannabis," he said.
The survey is just one part of the territorial government's three-pronged public engagement strategy.
By the end of the week it will have sent out between 80 to 90 letters to aboriginal governments, community governments and NGOs, some of which have business affiliations.
This fall, the GNWT is also expecting to send a delegation to nine communities to get feedback from community members.
"We'll hopefully be getting some different responses in those places than we are online," said Aitken.
The government's survey will be available online until September 22, after which the working group will publish a public report based on the submissions. Aitken said the GNWT hopes to introduce its cannabis legislation during the first session of the legislative assembly in the new year.
